1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sealing device for a door or window to seal a gap between the door or window and the floor or frame when the door or window is closed.
2. The Prior Art
Sealing devices for doors are generally known, which allow automatic sealing of the gap between the underside of the door body and the floor, when the door is being closed. Here, a movable sealing lip is inserted into a groove on the underside of the door body, and pressed against the floor when the door is closed, by an activation device, using a spring force, so as to seal the gap between the door body and the floor when the door is closed. The activation device thus has an activation element that extends laterally out of the groove of the door body. During the closing process, the activation element enters into contact with the door frame and is pressed into the groove. The sealing lip is thus brought into a sealing position by the activation device.
In order to install this sealing device, it is necessary to make a groove in the underside of the door body in order to insert the sealing lip with the activation device. However, this sealing device cannot be used to achieve a seal all around a door or a window, since this is prevented by the activation element, which extends laterally out of the groove.
A sealing device is known from German Patent No. DE 28 15 244 A1, which shows a sealing element for sealing a gap between the panel of a door and a floor. The sealing element is driven by an actuation element into a position in which it closes the gap when the door is closed if the actuation element engages a bricked-in door frame. The actuation element, which is designed as an actuation rail, is arranged on a first longitudinal side of the fastening rail, and is adapted to swivel when the door is closed. A deformable sealing element is arranged between the actuation rail and a second longitudinal side of the fastening rail.
The elements of the sealing device are located in this connection in a U-shaped protective casing and, when the door is closed, are pressed (or forced) out of the protective casing by a pressure bar. In this connection, the casing may either be inserted in a U-shaped recess of the bottom side of the door panel, or, if the U-shaped casing is to be secured below the door panel, the door panel has to be shortened accordingly. It is difficult to implement either way at a later time on a door that has already been installed.
The present invention provides a sealing device that can be easily attached to an installed door or a window, without any of the problems of the prior art devices.
The invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a device in which the fastening rail and the actuation rail each have an L-shaped cross section, whereby the standing leg of the actuation rail is articulated on the upper end of an upright leg of the fastening rail arranged on the door, and the sealing element is secured on the free end of the lying leg o the actuation rail.
This measure permits mounting the entire sealing device on an existing door at a later time without having to mill a deepening or damaging the door. If such a sealing device is mounted on an existing door by means of gluing or screws, it can be easily removed again, if necessary. No change is required on the existing door for applying the invention because the L-shaped components of the seal are arranged laterally at the bottom or on the underside of the door, which is particularly shown by the figures.
In the invention, a sealing device is attached to a door or a window and can be used to seal a gap between the door body and a floor or a window and a window frame. The sealing element can be brought into a position that seals off the gap when the door is closed, by means of an activation element, when the activation element is engaged with the door frame. In the invention, the sealing device has an attachment rail for affixing it to a door body or a window, and the activation element, which is designed as an activation rail, is arranged on a first side wall of the attachment rail. The activation rail can be pivoted when the door or window is closed. A deformable sealing element is disposed between the activation rail and a second side wall of the attachment rail. In this way, not only can a gap between the underside of the door body and a floor be sealed, but also a gap between the door body and the door frame can be sealed. In addition, a gap between a window and its frame, which gap goes completely around, can also be sealed with the sealing device according to the invention.
Preferably, the attachment rail is structured to be L-shaped in cross-section and is jointed onto the upper end of an upright-standing shank of the attachment rail arranged on a door.
In a preferred embodiment, the activation rail is structured to be L-shaped in cross-section, with a vertical shank and a horizontal shank, and the sealing element is attached at the free end of the horizontal shank. In this way, the attachment rail can be attached to the door body, while the sealing element is arranged on the underside of the door body.
In a preferred embodiment, the activation rail is biased with spring force relative to the attachment rail, so that the sealing element is biased when the door or the window is open, by means of the spring action of the spring elements, and does not close the gap, when the sealing element is compressed by the pivoted activation rail when the door or window is closed, and forms a dome.
Preferably, the attachment rail can be attached to a door or a window by means of gluing, in order to facilitate installation on an installed door or window.
In another embodiment, the activation rail has such a length that at least one end can be activated by contact against a frame as the door or the window is closed. In this way, the sealing element is brought into a position in which the gap is sealed only when the door or window is closed, and otherwise does not hinder opening and closing of the door.
In a preferred embodiment, the sealing element, the activation rail, and the attachment rail are extruded from plastic or aluminum, so that these components of the sealing device can be produced as endless parts, which can be cut to length as needed.
In another embodiment, the sealing element is a U-shapes dome when the activation rail is activated, so that even doors or windows with different gap heights or uneven floors can be reliably sealed.
In another embodiment, the sealing element has two rail elements, which are connected with one another so as to pivot, by means of a film joint. The first rail element is attached to the attachment rail so as to pivot, and the second rail element is attached to the activation rail so as to pivot, so that when the activation rail is activated, the rail elements are pivoted to stand at a V-shaped angle relative to one another. One of the two rail elements is extended beyond the film joint and thereby forms a contact seal, which is then pivoted along with the rail element, and thereby makes it possible to seal particularly high gap heights. Preferably, the activation rail and the attachment rail each have a groove, in which end segments of the sealing element can be attached. Other methods of attachment, such as gluing, bonding, etc., are also possible.
In another embodiment, the sealing element, the activation rail, and the attachment rail are made in one piece. Therefore, assembly of the individual components of the sealing device is not necessary, and only the spring elements have to be inserted and the adhesive strip, coated with adhesive, has to be applied, in order to complete the sealing device.
Since the activation element of an assembled sealing device only deforms the sealing element via contact with a door frame or a window frame, so that the gap is sealed, the seal does not slide along the floor, so that unevenness of the floor does not hinder opening and closing of the door.
Furthermore, any wear of the sealing device according to the invention is minimized in this way.
At the same time, the sealing device according to the invention is composed of simple components, which guarantee reliable function. These simple components can easily be extruded from high-strength plastic, or from aluminum, and then cut to length as needed. Therefore it is not necessary to produce and make available different components with different dimensions for doors of different widths. Assembly of the sealing device according to the invention is also particularly simple, since the sealing device according to the invention is glued onto a door body or window with the attachment rail.